PORTLAND – It’s not a quality the Beaverton softball team hopes to need throughout the season, but the Beavers’ ability to stay poised and rally late was on display Thursday when they fell to Lincoln 13-11 at Delta Park in North Portland.

Down 13-7 entering the seventh inning, the Beavers showed their true offensive capabilities after a flat start dug them a deep hole.

In the inning’s second at-bat, center fielder Emily John drove in first baseman Emma Brockman with a strong shot to left-center.

After stealing third, John scored on a stand-up triple by freshman designated player Kaci Krech. Krech then came home two batters later after a dropped ball by Lincoln’s right fielder, bringing Beaverton (0-2) within three runs.

“It shows that we can come back as a team and not get down on ourselves,” said John, who finished 3 for 4 at the plate.

A two-out bloop single to right field by second baseman Kaitlin Collins gave the Beavers their last run before the team finally fell 13-11.

While the late comeback was encouraging, it would not have been necessary but for an array of early throwing errors that put Beaverton behind the eight ball.

The team fell behind 5-1 in the first inning after making three errors and allowing one passed ball. Lincoln (1-1) pushed its lead to 7-1 in the bottom half of the second when another throwing error scored Cardinals pitcher and cleanup hitter Maggie Clapp.

Beaverton sophomore pitcher Lexi Hamaker ceded the circle to Sav Dixon following three innings of work and the score 10-2. Beavers coach Roni Illias praised Hamaker for her calmness and ball movement in the loss.

“It’s so disheartening for a pitcher when it’s error after error,” Illias said. “I don’t know if I could have had the composure she had.”

Hamaker was not the only Beaver to show composure after the team’s error-packed start. Freshman shortstop Anika Matsumato flashed her glove work in the bottom of the sixth, snagging a line drive over her head with a high leap that deflected attention away from the team’s early fielding mistakes.

It was Beaverton’s second straight two-run loss to open the season, yet it may just show the youthful team how to handle adversity and compete - even after a lethargic opening.

“We were obviously feeling a little bit down about it,” Matsumato said. “I think of it as a lesson. We just taught ourselves how to fix that error.”